The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 531: Volume 13: Sea Rain and Heavenly Wind - 1: Penetrating the Tiger’s Den

Chapter 531: Volume 13: Sea Rain and Heavenly Wind Chapter 1: Penetrating the Tiger’s Den

The unadorned Rosenborg Castle, compared to the magnificent Assyria Palace, seemed even more ancient in its simplicity. Time and weather had smoothed the rough edges of the square red page rocks, and two massive bronze doors closed together to form an imposing winged tiger head. The protruding fangs of the winged tiger acted as a natural defensive lock for the city gates.

As Komer’s three carriages slowly entered Rosenborg Castle, Thomas’s Steward had already been waiting at the city gates to welcome Komer and his party. Komer felt a little caught off guard by the attention, but he also sensed that perhaps his arrival was very timely.

"Lord, I must first visit a friend of mine who holds an important position within the Rosenborg Court Mage Corps. If you need me, you can use magic to send me a message—uh, I can ask him to introduce you,"

Mr. Rebry kindly reminded Komer when departing. He knew that Komer was here to negotiate a trade with Prince Thomas for the Catania River Navigation Rights. Though it was not necessarily his place to remind him, still he hoped Komer would consider all aspects more thoroughly.

"As far as I know, that Prince Thomas is at odds with the much-favored Prince Maxim, the primary heir to the Grand Duke’s throne. You would do best to be cautious before making any decisions, Sir,"

"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Rebry. I think I indeed need your friend to broker this for me. One shouldn’t put all their eggs in one basket. Should Thomas be unable to meet my demands, then any agreement would naturally be void,"

Komer was well aware of this, but it seemed that Maxim placed great importance on bloodline, status, and position. For someone like himself, a low-ranking noble from a remote region, even getting an audience with the other party would be extremely difficult, let alone discussing official matters.

The meeting with Thomas was not entirely satisfactory, which was within Komer’s expectations.

No one could easily believe that the Catania River waterway could be opened. The efforts of many countries had not yielded any results. The Jellyfish People, as ancient ice beings that have been conservative for over ten thousand years, outright refused to discuss this matter with any party. As for negotiations, they didn’t need anything from mortals, and even if they did, they had their own secretive ways to obtain them.

There were simply too many merchants hoping to become suppliers for the Jellyfish People. The various special products from the Great Swamp Area were enough to make any merchant immensely wealthy on the Continent in a very short time—of course, this required that the Jellyfish People give them such an opportunity.

Thomas also held a skeptical attitude, not underestimating Komer’s abilities but if he were to simply trust Komer and make this issue public, Thomas was not so naive.

He needed to see proof that the Catania River Navigation Rights were indeed obtained by Komer, like a commitment from the Jellyfish People, or even Komer personally demonstrating it. For this, Thomas was even willing to offer Komer a ship.

However, in contrast to Thomas’s composure, Prince Maxim, who was introduced by Rebry’s friend, was far more contemptuous. Not only did he refuse Komer’s request for an audience, but he also clearly expressed that someone like Komer, a hillbilly, should stay down-to-earth and not try to seek these unconventional opportunities to shoot to fame. This infuriated Komer deeply.

But as angry as he was, Komer still knew that to prove himself, he must first get past the Jellyfish People. If he couldn’t get past them, then Rosenborg might just become a stage for a clown’s performance to him.

The vast expanse of the water added a touch of ambiguity to the landscape, while the endless reeds on both banks formed a seemingly endless green corridor. Occasionally, unnamed waterbirds would screech, swooping over the water to grab a fish and soar into the sky, sending ripples slowly spreading across the otherwise still surface.

Sunlight sprinkled on the water, casting a faint golden hue like donning a layer of golden armor on those immersed in the beauty of these waters. The boats, cutting through this serene painting, glided slowly across the water, adding a sense of solemn beauty to the scene.

The Catania River could be considered the most abundant watercourse on the Blue Continent. Although it did not rank among the top five in terms of length, it originated from the Toros Mountains, which, despite intense sunlight, experienced great climate shifts, bringing an extremely rich water supply from the melted snow. From the middle reaches onward, it was fed by rivers of varying sizes, greatly increasing its volume. With a width reaching hundreds of meters at some points, it was known as the Golden Waterway.

Regrettably, the Golden Waterway came to an abrupt halt between the Duchy of Rosenbourg and the Duchy of West Beass to the south. Beyond that point began the Great Swamp Area controlled by the Jellyfish People.

The vast expanse of the Great Swamp Area, spanning thousands of miles, rendered this stretch of waterway, which extended for over four hundred miles, a forbidden territory. The Jellyfish People, the lords of the swamp, had sealed off this passage, prohibiting entry to any other species, and all efforts by mortals in the centuries that followed had ended in failure.

The most recent attempt traces back to several decades ago, and the Duchy of Rosenborg’s last failed effort effectively put a full stop to the various powers striving for the Catania River navigation rights. None wished to expend money and life on an endeavor destined to fail.

The person leading the way for Komer and his companions was a small merchant from the Barefoot Society. With the networking of Caffrey, the Barefoot Society merchants spread across the Continent quickly found Komer a way to make contact with the Jellyfish People.

Meeting the Jellyfish People was not difficult, of course, that had to happen at a few trading points within their own controlled areas. But meeting the core tier of Jellyfish People was an extremely slim chance. The nations had exhausted every stratagem possible to clear the Catania River route, largely because it was virtually impossible to make contact with the upper echelons of the Jellyfish People, who simply refused to grant audiences to mortals, not even giving the chance for contact, leaving no option but to cry out in vain.

"Your baron, once our boat enters their controlled area, please go inside the cabin and avoid showing your face outside. They do not like mortals, especially not on the deck of their vessels. Many among them hold hostility towards mortals, so to prevent unnecessary trouble, please, you and your friends should enter the cabin to rest," said the trader.

The merchants of the Barefoot Society were always so polite; Caffrey was this way, and so was Mr. Gate standing before them.

"Mr. Gate, what mainly are you trading with them this time?" Komer retracted his gaze from afar and asked with a calm mind.

"They have very little need for goods from the outside world. The only things that can be exchanged for their goods are quite special, like precious timbers, treasures, fire phosphorus stones, and some metal items. After each trade, they list the materials and quantities they will need for the next exchange, confirming the method of trade. So doing business with them is very simple and easy. Not to forget salt, perhaps salt is their most important import. Almost every merchant who trades with them considers salt as their prime trade commodity," Gate explained.

"So, the mortals in the middle and upper reaches of the Catania River tried to pressure the Jellyfish People into opening the passage by limiting salt trade. However, the Great Swamp Area is not without salt; it’s just that the production cost of salt is too high, hence they choose to trade. That blockade attempt didn’t have any effect, instead, it just filled the merchants from various countries with grievances, and the embargo was eventually lifted in failure, only to make their relationship with the mortals of the Catania River even more tense."

Gate was quite a talkative person. He was a merchant active between the Duchy of Rosenbourg and West Beass, owning a not-so-large trading company known for its honesty. He had been trading with the Jellyfish People for some years, though his business was never very large in scale.

He generally offered the Jellyfish People valuable timber and metals, as well as salt, in exchange for specialties from the Great Swamp Area, such as pearl clams, clamshells, dried fish, dried shrimp, turtle shell, and of course, some special plants from the Great Swamp Area like water pine, fog fir, and cold oak – dried materials and foliage.

These plants, grown in the unique environment of the Great Swamp Area, possessed special properties; simply put, they had a certain magic affinity, making them excellent materials for crafting magic tools, magic equipment, and Magic Scrolls.

He also had a general idea of Komer and his party’s purpose in the Great Swamp Area. He didn’t believe that they could achieve what many could not, but his duty was merely to lead this party to the Jellyfish People’s trading point and introduce them as new merchants, even without prior consent from the Jellyfish People. However, Gate believed that with his own reputation, the Jellyfish People would not turn hostile, as long as Komer and his companions refrained from doing anything too outrageous.

The boat glided slowly along the reed-covered river bank. The Catania River, devoid of any other vessels, seemed eerily quiet. The largeness of the river with only this one boat moving upon it appeared somewhat awkward and bizarre.

Yet, Gate obviously was accustomed to this quietude. If things were bustling, that would be abnormal. The Jellyfish People never conducted trade with two parties at the same time, so it was also difficult for merchants to find out what others had gained or traded with the Jellyfish People. This, in turn, became a trade secret.

Komer could already sense that while there was not a soul to be seen on the river’s surface or in the reed zones, not even a water bird or fish, a large number of life forms were gathering around his boat. Though invisible to detection, Komer, relying on his strong perceptive abilities, was keenly aware of the presence of these Jellyfish People warriors.

They were hidden underwater, even controlling their breathing. Even Gate, a frequent trader, had not noticed anything unusual. But in Komer’s presence, all was laid bare, and the other party evidently became aware of these uninvited guests on their vessel.

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